No-Bake Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bars

We’ve turned everyone’s favorite favorite chocolate chip cookie dough into a safe-to-eat, safe-to-serve bar that’s perfect for summer potlucks and barbecues (or any time you need a raw cookie dough fix). These no-bake cookie dough bars set up in the fridge, so you don’t need to heat up your kitchen to make a decadent homemade dessert.MORE+LESS-

Chocolate Ganache Topping:

Steps

For the base layer: in a large mixing bowl, using an electric hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the softened butter and brown sugar until well combined.

2

Add in the vanilla extract, milk, salt and oat flour. Mix together until smooth.

3

Fold in the mini chocolate chips until well distributed.

4

Line an 8x8-inch baking pan with parchment or wax paper. Spread the “dough” out evenly, making sure to get it all the way into the corners of the pan. Refrigerate for at least two hours or until very solid.

5

Once the base layer is solid, make the top layer by melting the remaining chocolate chips with coconut oil in a small saucepan over low heat.

6

Once smooth, pour over the base layer and spread evenly. Return pan to fridge to solidify the chocolate layer (about 15 minutes).

7

Slice into 2-inch squares. Serve immediately or keep refrigerated in an airtight container for up to a week.

Expert Tips

I tend to like a saltier chocolate chip cookie, but you can slash the salt in the base layer in half depending on your tastes.

To make 2 cups of oat flour, take 2 2/3 cups of old-fashioned oats and pulse them in a high-powered blender or food processor until the texture resembles a fine flour. You can also use store-bought oat flour.

Coconut oil has a great texture to help make the chocolate layer soft and sliceable, but it does add a slight coconut flavor to the bars. Don’t like coconut? Just sub in 1/4 cup heavy cream for the coconut oil to make a traditional chocolate ganache.

Bars will hold their shape at room temperature for about two hours. If you want to serve them at an outdoor party on a warm day, freeze the bars solid first, and then bring out about 15 minutes before serving. That’ll buy you an extra hour or two depending on just how hot it is.

Nutrition Information

No nutrition information available for this recipe

More About This Recipe

I know that summertime is the time for fruit pies and cobblers and crisps and other delicious baked goods made with seasonal fruits, but when it’s sweltering outside, pretty much the last thing I want to do is fire up my oven. So what’s a backyard barbecue hostess to do? Make a perfectly decadent, crowd-pleasing no-bake dessert, that’s what!
These No-Bake Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough bars are the perfect summertime potluck contribution. They mix up in just a few minutes, and after chilling for a few hours, they can sit out on the buffet table until everyone gets their chance to grab dessert. If it’s really balmy outside, you can even pop these suckers into the freezer for a great chilled treat.
The bottom layer of these bars is a perfectly edible raw cookie dough made without eggs, and with oat flour instead of the all-purpose wheat flour you’ll traditionally find in cookie dough (which isn’t safe to eat without baking). Oat flour can be found in the gluten-free baking aisle at most major supermarkets, or you can make it easily at home.
That layer is then topped with a thin (summer-weight, if you will) blanket of chocolate because, well, let’s be honest, more chocolate is never a bad thing.
I prefer to cut these babies into big, rich two-inch squares, but if you want to stretch these to serve a crowd, you can cut them into cute little one-inch bites that’ll give you over 30 servings per single batch. Let’s see a pie do that! Happy cookout season!